Exclusive: Director Cédric Kahn on The Goldman Case, French cinema and more

What are the chances of movie-goers getting not one but two gripping French courtroom dramas fresh off of film festival buzz? After Justine Triet’s Anatomy of a Fall’s success during the awards season, Cédric Kahn’s The Goldman Case premiered at Cannes last year before arriving at the Red Lorry Film Festival. A thorough examination of the politicised 1975 trial of radical leftist Pierre Goldman, the enthralling film featuring Arieh Worthalter takes place in a courtroom for the majority of its runtime.

When asked about what got him interested in the original trial, Cédric Kahn says in an exclusive interview with Filmfare, “The power of the spoken word. The protagonists in this trial were great orators, capable at any moment of swaying the audience and the jury to their point of view. This film is a tribute to the spoken word, which becomes like a camera, creating a point of view.”

Much of the film relies on actor Arieh Worthalter who plays Pierre Goldman. The actor went to Paris to meet the director and upon reading the first sentence of the script, knew that he wanted the part. “I knew he was the ideal actor for the part. He obviously had the character in his heart and in his skin,” Kahn says. Breaking down the roles for the cast took little or no effort for the director who relied on them to do their research.

While research is pivotal for any film or show based on real events, especially one based on a highly publicised chapter in history, Kahn admitted that he had a lot of liberty to play around with the material. “We based the script on newspaper articles from the time. Goldman’s two lawyers also spoke to us. The rest is a matter of imagination,” he reveals.

Another key element of the courtroom drama was maintaining the thrill and excitement within a closed setting. Opening up about the electrifying atmosphere in the room, Kahn says it boils down to, “The script, the quality of the acting, the meticulous editing. And then there’s the energy of the audience at the trial, who are very attentive and responsive. It electrifies the atmosphere.”

Coincidently, The Goldman Case was made around the same time as Anatomy of a Fall. Kahn recalls, “Justine Triet’s film is very good, but it was made at exactly the same time as mine and I couldn’t use it as a source of inspiration.”

French cinema sure is grabbing attention globally with stellar storytelling and head-turning performances. “French cinema is very present on the international scene, in the selections and prize lists of the major festivals, at the Oscars, etc.; it’s a consecration for our French production system, which has so often been criticised,” Kahn concludes.